awwww thats so sad about Danny but im glad she's moving on
poor Vaughn lol
can't wait for the next chapter but is Danny going to come back???
great chapter
Chapter 3
The next morning, Sydney had every intention of sleeping in until forever. It was after eleven by the time she arrived home since on the way she was stuck behind a traffic accident. Once she got home, she spent another hour scrubbing her kitchen floor. She couldn’t blame Brutus though, it wasn’t his fault she failed to keep track of time and thus, was over two hours late. So, after walking him at seven a.m., she crawled back into bed and fell back to sleep until ten, when her phone rang. “Hullo?” she grumbled.
“SO?! How was it?” her sister asked in an excited manor.
“Go away Nadia,” Sydney grumbled.
“What’s the matter? You sound asleep.”
“Because I was asleep.” Sydney groaned.
“Oops sorry... but hey, since when do you sleep in past ten?” Nadia asked, knowing her sister was a habitual early riser.
“I was up late scrubbing pee off my kitchen floor.”
“Ohh, that damn dog – I told you to get rid of him.”
“Nadia, I can’t. He was Danny’s. What would I do with him?”
“Take him to the pound,” she suggested harshly.
“Can’t.”
“Well, whatever, how was the speed dating?” Nadia asked.
“Completely horrible and I was about ready to kill you for suggesting me even going – did you know there was a guy there with only one hand! He had a stub, Nadia, a stub.”
Nadia burst out laughing. “Sorry sis, but that is hilarious.”
“Yeah, yeah, so I was just about to leave when he sat down...”
“He? Oooo,” Nadia said, sounding intrigued. “Does ‘he’ have a name?”
“Michael,” Sydney sighed.
“Whoa sis, slow down there.... wait oh my god, is he in bed with you?”
“Nadia that’s sick.”
“Well... you sound all dreamy.”
“I do not sound dreamy,” she defended.
“Do to.”
“Do not! For god’s sakes, we talked about Danny last night,” Sydney told her.
“Oh no,” Nadia gasped in horror. “You talked about Danny?! WHY would you do that?”
“Because I have to explain who I am and why I’m this screwed up! Besides, he recently got out of a relationship too – his fiancée was cheating on him.”
“So he has baggage. Maybe there’s a deeper issue there... hmm, is he ugly?”
“Definitely not.”
“Maybe he’s bad in bed... maybe his thingie is really small!” Nadia suggested.
Sydney groaned and slammed her face down in a pillow. “Um, who was it again that was trying to get me to date?”
“Oh it’s still me, but I want you to date the right guy, not Mr. ‘It’s so tiny I can’t even see it’.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“NO! DON’T!” Nadia said quickly. “I’m serious Syd.”
“Sadly, I know you are. But did you ever consider that maybe Michael did nothing wrong and this Alice chick was a horny whore or she was just a bitch.”
“It’s possible...”
“See, so don’t judge him before you know him,” Sydney told her.
“Fine, fine, fine... but Syd, seriously, don’t get too attached to this guy.”
“Why?”
“Because,” Nadia sighed. “You may not be ready.”
Sydney sighed and looked down as she squeezed the phone a little tighter. “I know that. He was just.... nice to talk to.”
“Well talking is fine, just don’t-”
“Be like you, got it,” Sydney smirked.
“HEY! I take offense to that.”
“I know you do, sweetie. Love you, bye.” Sydney sighed. Then, she tossed her phone aside and tried to get back to sleep. She had only been laying down a few minutes when her phone rang again. “Hello?” she grumbled.
“Oh god, sorry, did I wake you?” a man on the other end sounded embarrassed.
“Who is this?”
“Sorry, this is Michael, from last night.”
Sydney sat bolt upright in bed. “Michael... ohh I, no you didn’t wake me. How are you?”
“Good,” he said. “I was just wondering... if maybe you wanted to grab some lunch. I know it’s short notice, so if you have other plans, that’s cool.”
“No, I don’t. I’d love to have lunch,” Sydney said with a grin.
“Okay, great, twelve thirty?”
“Sure, where?”
“Joe’s Bistro, do you know it?”
“I love that place,” she told him.
He laughed. “Me too. I’ll see you there, ok?”
“Okay,” she sighed, then she hung up and bounded from bed and into the shower, suddenly feeling much more awake.
At 12:30, Sydney practically skipped into Joe’s Bistro, anxiously wanting to see Michael again. She saw him wave to her with a smile from a booth in a corner and her heart fluttered slightly. She quickly tried to compose herself and stop the impending giggles as she walked over to him. “Hey.”
“Hey, glad you could come.” He smiled and stood as she walked over. “Wanna get something to eat?”
“Yep, but lunch is on me,” she told him with a smile. He hesitated. “Michael, please, I insist. It’s my thank you for last night. It was the best time I’ve had in a while.”
“Well... okay then,” he said rather reluctantly. “Thanks.”
“Of course, after all you did save me from being forced to turn down an impending dinner invite from a man with one hand.”
“Excuse me?!” Michael laughed.
“Didn’t you see him?” she asked. Michael shook his head. “Yeah... it was...,” she shivered.
He laughed. “I can imagine.”
They ordered their lunches and instinctively, Michael pulled out his wallet, but Sydney beat him to it, throwing a twenty on the counter before he had a chance. She flashed him a grin and he put his wallet away while laughing slightly. “Not used to letting women pay?”
“No,” he laughed. “I’m old fashioned, I guess... or it comes from being raised by my mom since she beat good values and manners into me.”
“Your mom?” Sydney asked cautiously as they grabbed their sandwiches and walked back to the booth Michael was sitting at.
“Yeah, my dad died of lung cancer when I was eight. If I’ve learned only one thing in my life, it’s that when the Surgeon General says that smoking kills he’s not kidding,” Michael joked.
Sydney gave him a sympathetic look. “That must have been hard.”
“It was. My dad was a great guy; everybody’s friend. I can’t remember as much as I’d like to and I sort of feel guilty about it sometimes... I mean, twenty years is a long time but it’s not that long, right?”
“Yeah,” Sydney sighed. “Do you have only siblings?”
“Nope, it was just me and my mom for a long time... of course a few years ago she got remarried which is... totally weird,” he shook his head, almost disturbed.
“Why? She’s happy right?” Sydney asked.
“Well yeah... it’s just... nah, I can’t tell you.” He shook his head. “It’s too creepy; you’ll run away.”
“I promise I won’t.” She smiled.
He laughed softly. “Well... she married my uncle, my dad’s brother.”
Sydney’s eyes widened in shock and she couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s different.”
“You mean it’s creepy and wrong.”
“No... well maybe a little,” she added at the skeptical look on his face.
“Yeah... I assume nothing was going on while my father was alive... it’s just once he died, my uncle was always around, since he promised my dad he’d take care of us and I guess.... I dunno,” he shrugged. “Please, no ‘taking care of’ jokes – I hear enough of them from Eric.”
“I would never,” Sydney smiled.
“Yeah, so we’re a very psychotic family but oh well, normal is boring, right?”
“Right,” she grinned.
“You said you had a sister, right?” he asked.
Sydney nodded. “Nadia, she’s a year younger... she’s... well, a mess is a bit strong of a word, but she’s got troubles I suppose. She’s always been a partier... she barely graduated college, doesn’t keep a job. Not because she gets fired, mind you, but because she quits. She always says she gets bored easily or something...”
“I know what you mean. Eric’s the same way. He drives me nuts.”
“Yep.” Sydney nodded. “She drives me nuts but I love her,” Sydney told him. Michael nodded.
They continued to chat while they ate and even an hour after that. Finally, Michael told Sydney that he had to leave because he promised he’d meet Eric. “I had a great time though,” he told her as he walked with her back to her car.
“Me too,” she said.
“You busy tomorrow?” he asked. She laughed. “Sorry... am I being annoying?”
“No, not at all actually,” she told him. “I’m having lunch with my parents and sister, but I’ll be free by two.”
“Wanna catch a movie?”
“Sure. Want to just meet at the theater?” she asked. He nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you at two then.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly. “See you then, Syd.”
“Yeah... I assume nothing was going on while my father was alive... it’s just once he died, my uncle was always around, since he promised my dad he’d take care of us and I guess.... I dunno,” he shrugged. “Please, no ‘taking care of’ jokes – I hear enough of them from Eric.”
